Of Loneliness and Chocolate Frogs
by TeaCoffeeBooks
Summary: When Harry and Ron steal Mr. Weasley's car to fly to Hogwarts in 2nd Year, they forget one very important person they leave behind.


**Disclaimer:** I am not affiliated in any way with J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros.

**A/N:** I was rewatching the _Chamber of Secrets_ film the other day, and I was intrigued: when Harry and Ron stole the flying car, what happened to Hermione on the train?

Enjoy, and as always let me know what you think :)

* * *

><p>Hermione put her chin on her hand with a huff and glared at the splendid countryside rushing past. <em>Where<em> were Harry and Ron?! Naturally, she had assumed the three of them would share a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, and had quickly secured one for them all and relentlessly defended it from anyone who tried to join her.

Now, she was left alone in the compartment she had so keenly prevented anyone else from entering, and rather unhappy.

A part of her was frantically analysing every moment since the start of their friendship, wondering where she had gone wrong to possibly scare them away.

The other part was furious that they had left her like this, and was scripting _exactly_ how she would inform them of their error when she next saw them.

They had supported each other and gone through _everything_ last year—so why on Earth would they abandon her now? They were here, she was certain. She had seen the Weasley's on Platform 9¾, had watched with sympathy as Ginny shyly searched for a seat among all the strangers.

In fact, Hermione was almost tempted now to find wherever Ginny had settled herself and politely request the location of her older brother and his silly friend who apparently were not aware that the word "trio" entailed _three_ members, not two.

But Hermione had always been the sensible one in their _trio_, and so she merely shook her head grumpily and stood to retrieve her trunk from the rack above her head. She kept her eyes focused on the task at hand as she unlocked the latches and began to search through her neatly organized belongings. Rather unhappily, she noticed that in the absence of Harry and Ron, her old self-consciousness which had plagued her during First Year was creeping back. She moved with purpose as she bustled around the compartment, picking a book from her trunk and desperately hoping that she did not look hopelessly lonely to anyone who might see.

The book was a rather massive volume; the extended version of the edition required for Second Year Charms. Settling herself back in her seat by the window, Hermione placed the hefty tome on her knees and prepared to absorb every last scrap of information she could possibly extract.

She had already read the book. Twice, actually. But if Harry and Ron had better things to do than sit with her, then she certainly had more important things to do than feel upset about it. Besides, she thought in a desperate attempt to convince herself, her colour-coded notes could always use some adjustment, and now was the perfect opportunity.

Honestly, it was a _good_ thing Harry and Ron—or anyone else, for that matter—weren't here. How could she be expected to focus with them moaning about Snape or Malfoy, or loudly consuming every sweet from the trolley while yelling about Quidditch?

No, it was a very good thing they had left her to herself.

With her chin high, Hermione propped up the book in her lap and began to scan the pages with a look of fierce determination. The curriculum for this year was quite interesting, she mused as she turned the page to the chapter on locating charms (and didn't at all consider trying one, thank you very much).

Her hand stopped, midway through flipping the page when she heard a light tapping at the door and a soft voice.

"Something from the trolley, dear?" The witch peered at Hermione with a look of obvious pity.

Hermione gave a polite smile and confidently answered, "No, thank you." She was quite determined not to appear unhappy on her own, or to think of how Harry and Ron were probably clumsily filling their messy trunks with Chocolate Frog Cards this very moment.

The old witch moved on, pushing the trolley down the aisle. Hermione, grateful the interruption had passed, returned to her book.

Or at least she tried to. Something caught her eye and he forgot all about charms as she gazed out the window and looked to the sky. Upon recognising Mr. Weasley's enchanted car flying rather violently after the Hogwarts Express, Hermione's jaw fell open in absolute shock. She stood from the seat and pressed herself against the window for a better look, not even aware of her beloved textbook tumbling inelegantly to the floor.

Her first thought was "Why?" and was quickly followed by "Who?" The latter was quickly answered as one of the doors fell open and a figure dangled out of it. The car seemed ready to roll in mid-air, and Hermione felt a surge of panic in her throat as she realised that was _Harry Potter_, of all people, hanging so very high above the English countryside with no possible salvation in sight.

The paralysis lasted only a moment, though, and in a second Hermione had her wand firmly in hand and unwaveringly aimed at the lopsided car in the sky. Vaguely, she noted the cries of alarm from the other compartments as students spotted the frankly ridiculous sight outside. This did not distract Hermione in the slightest and she swished and flicked her wand, hissing "_Wingardium leviosa!_" under her breath.

She smiled. It felt good to do magic again.

She watched with satisfaction as the car righted itself with Harry safely inside it. Securing her wand, she let out a sigh of relief and closed her eyes. Her frustration and anger were forgotten in favour of terror and confusion. Perhaps they were doing something (whatever exactly _were_ they doing, anyway? She intended to find out.) immensely stupid, but at least they were safe. She could be angry at them later.

And oh, would she be angry. What were they _thinking_, flying a car to school instead of taking the train? Hermione couldn't fathom it. Was it for the thrill? Attention? Or had something happened which somehow prevented them from boarding with the other students?

Hermione banished these worrying thoughts from her head and stepped over her charms book, hurrying to the aisle of the train. Other students were exclaiming all sorts of things about the spectacular survival of the unexplained flying car, but Hermione did not hear them as she searched for the sweets trolley.

"Excuse me!"

The kind witch turned to Hermione with a warm smile. "Yes, dear? Can I get you something?"

"Three Chocolate Frogs, please." said Hermione, reaching into her pocket for some Sickles.

Hermione hid the Frogs in her trunk, tucking them beneath a few innocent jumpers and internally scolding herself for her compassion. After this episode, the last thing the boys deserved was treats. She considered saving them for herself instead, but this weak determination was squashed by pleasant mental image of Ron and Harry happily gobbling up the sweets by the common room fire.

Sitting by the window again, Hermione absently stroked the creases out of the pages of her book and carefully watched the car's progress across the sky. It was more stable now. But just in case, her fingers curled around her wand beside her.

Yes, she would be very angry. They were being unbelievably stupid, stealing a car like this. It was hardly what one would call safe! She would tell them this. She would be very angry. Perhaps she wouldn't even speak to them for a few days, once she found their motives and judged them for herself. But without a doubt, they were being idiots no matter what the reason.

But they were not sitting in another compartment, stuffing themselves with treats and laughing without her.

She would be very angry, but she would not be alone.

Hermione smiled and opened her book again, making sure to look up every few moments to check the car was still in the air.


End file.
